Coronavirus US summary: cases, deaths and stimulus checks today
Coronavirus live USA: latest Covid-19 news - 11/12 June
US coronavirus latest: 13:30 PT/16:30 ET on Friday 12 June (22:30 CEST)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 7,586,973 cases have been detected worldwide, with 423,257 deaths and 3,582,792 people now recovered.
In the USA, there have been 2,036,429 confirmed cases and 114,195 deaths with 540,292 people recovering from the virus.
It seems the US is unwilling to listen to this advice despite a dozen states reporting their highest daily totals since the pandemic began.
This makes Americans unwillingness to wear them even more baffling. There has been open mocking of people wearing masks in some citites.
You know a country is at a very strange point in its existence when wearing a face mask to prevent the spread of a fatal disease is a divisive topic.
Many of the potentially most vulnerable groups have not been given straight answers regarding data about the coronavirus.
As many as 20 states have seen increases in coronavirus cases with some of the states that opened up their economy early seeing surges.
American has seen almost 10,000 new cases today as they continue to suffer from a first wave of the virus.
Covid-19 hotspots in the United States
There are coronavirus hotspots in locations in California, Arizona, Texas, Florida and North Carolina, according to this report by CNBC:
Relief initiative for rideshare drivers impacted by coronavirus
Rideshare drivers impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic receive free food, hand sanitizer and face masks at a food drive organised by the Mobile Workers Alliance (MWA), outside the Uber Greenlight hub in Burbank, California, on Thursday. The MWA claims Uber and Lyft have not provided the necessary support to the gig drivers in the face of the pandemic.
(Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP)
Experts look to polio vaccine as interim Covid-19 measure
Citing a paper published in Science magazine on Thursday, this report by CNN says medical experts are turning to a polio vaccine as a temporary way of protecting against the coronavirus.
Rally attendees can't sue Trump campaign if they get Covid-19
Attendees at US President Donald Trump's rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma next Friday cannot sue his campaign if they catch the coronavirus at the event. They must agree to this condition when they sign up for tickets on the Trump campaign website.
A disclaimer on the site reads: "By attending the Rally, you and any guests voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19 and agree not to hold Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.; BOK Center; ASM Global; or any of their affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, contractors, or volunteers liable for any illness or injury."
(Photo: REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst)
Second stimulus check calculator: how much could I get?
Second stimulus check calculator: how much could I get?
The HEROES Act proposes a second round of coronavirus Economic Impact Payments in the US. Find out here how much you could claim:
WHO Q&A on science and Covid-19
The World Health Organization (WHO) has held a live Q&A on science and the coronavirus with its chief scientist, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan. You can watch it back in full here:
New Yorkers head for suburbs amid Covid-19 and protests
According to the Guardian, real-estate brokers are reporting a surge in interest in homes outside of New York City as a result of the coronavirus and the unrest over the killing of George Floyd in police custody.
"First off, it’s the virus, and people are just feeling done with small apartments. Then came the protests," the newspaper was told by estate agent Madeline Wiebicke.
"They just can’t handle the city right now. They’re saying they want a quiet yard and most of all a home office.”
Excalibur Hotel & Casino employees line up and applaud as guests are let into the Las Vegas Strip property for the first time since being closed in mid-March because of the coronavirus pandemic on June 11, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hotel-casinos throughout the state were allowed to open on June 4 as part of a phased reopening of the economy with social distancing guidelines and other restrictions in place. Ethan Miller/Getty Images/AFP
US unemployment eases slightly
The pace of unemployment claims declined again last week as the U.S. jobs market continued its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic Labor Department data showed Thursday, according to a report from CNBC.
No Covid-19 recourse for Trump attendees
US lawyers tend to be pretty thorough about trying to avoid their clients getting sued.
Oil prices slide
In addition to the fall in equities (see below) oil prices are also sliding, with the surge in coronavirus cases causing fears the stuttering economy, the world's biggest consumer of crude and fuel, will be slammed again by the virus.
West Texas Intermediate fell nearly 12% over Thursday, with prices continuing to fall as markets opened in Asia.
Stock markets sharply down
US stocks plummeted on Thursday as investor sentiment turned bearish with coronavirus cases still rising (the US has now confirmed more than two million cases) and on the back of the Fed's comments on Wednesday that the pandemic could permanently damage the economy and cause an extended period of high unemployment. All three major indexes fell, the S&P 500 by 5.9%; the Dow Jones by 6.9%; and the Nasdaq by 5.3%
Some analysts however felt the market had been clearly overvalued and the fall was nothing more than an expected correction.
How to avoid the coronavirus
In short, your danger level goes up the closer you are to people, the longer you spend time with them and the more confined the space you are in with them is.
Indoor dining at restaurants, the FT notes, can be notably risky.
New spikes being seen after restriction easing
In Arizona, hospitals have been told to prepare for the worst. Texas has more hospitalized Covid-19 patients than at any time before.
And the governor of North Carolina said recent jumps caused him to rethink plans to reopen schools or businesses.
PS5 launch event: new console, games and more from PlayStation
Isolation entertainment
For those that may have to self-isolate and who enjoy video games, there was some welcome news as Sony Corp unveiled a host of titles for its upcoming PlayStation 5 console, including a sequel to its hit 'Spider-Man' title and the latest 'Gran Turismo' racer, as it builds anticipation ahead of the planned year-end launch.
As rival Microsoft Corp prepares the launch of its next generation Xbox Series X console for this year's holiday season, the presentation gave a first glimpse of how games will look when played on Sony's device.
Make America Gr... what?
It would appear that anyone attending Trump's upcoming rallies will have to agree not to sue him if they were to test positive for Covid-19 thereafter.
Catch-up...
Some of the coronavirus-related headlines making the news in the last few hours:
- Twitter suspends Chinese operation pushing pro-Beijing coronavirus messages
- Joe Biden reveals eight-point plan to reopen the US economy in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak
- August recess in the Senate is the likely date by which we'll know if there will be a second stimulus payment
- Surgeons in Chicago have given a new set of lungs to a young woman with severe lung damage from the coronavirus
US coronavirus latest: 16:00 PT/22:00 ET on Thursday 11 June (01:00 CEST Fri 12 June)
According to the latest figures published by Johns Hopkins University, 7,482,311 cases have been detected worldwide, with 420,132 deaths and 3,516,037 people now recovered.
In the USA, there have been 2,018,875 confirmed cases and 113,700 deaths with 538,645 people recovering from the virus.
US Coronavirus news: 11/12 June
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Covid-19 pandemic as it affects the United States.
The number of cases and deaths continues to rise across the US and Thursday saw the unwanted milestone of two million confirmed infections being reached.